Always There
by NanaOsaki-san
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome have been best freinds ever since first grade. As kagome deals with the loss of her father she becomes part of a dangerous crowd. How far will you go to save your BF?
1. prologue part 1

Hi everybody! Okay so this is my first fanfic story ever, so if you read it and it totally sucks, please do not yell at me. I worked really hard on it so constructive critism would help a ton. I rated it it T for situations that will come up later on in the story. I don't think there will be any M situations (on screen) because I really don't know how to write lime sceens, and well i don't feel comfortable writing stuff like that so for now it will remain T. However there might be scenes indicating that something has happened or is about to happen.

I also need to point out that I hate people who take forever to update, however I do understand writer's block. I am warning you all now that if I am busy or have writer's block it might take me a long period of time to update. So don't bite my head off if this situation occurs. Well onto the story. Which by the wayb doesn't have a title yet because I have no idea what to call it. Sorry. well nhere we go, hope you like it. Be sure toR&R afterwards. Thank-you

NanaOsaki-san

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_Prologue: Part 1_

When I was in Kindergarten, I don't remember having any friends. I do, however remember the harsh teasing and ridicule I had to go through from my classmates. They never ran out of things to say to me. Sometimes it was something as simple as my glasses or the way I dressed. At that age students were not required to wear uniforms. With this knowledge, I chose to wear dresses. It would always hurt when they made fun of my dresses, because my mother made them for me.

Other times they would find crueler things to say or point out. Like on many occasions they would say that the reason I was so poor was because my father was in the hospital. My father had been in the hospital for quite some time. Every time I went to see him he was either to ill to speak to me or sleeping. Sometimes it scared me because there were so many needles in his body and he was hooked up to a machine. It was until I was older that I had found out it was cancer. Then there was my grandpa. He started to be the one to pick me up from school. Mom had to get a second job to pay for the hospital bills. Sometimes he also dropped me off, reminding me to take my sacred charms. The kids in my class called him crazy. Although I loved my grandpa, sometimes I thought those kids were right.

I sat alone at recess and at lunch. I eventually started to think that I really was ugly and dumb. It hurt a lot. I tried to be strong and put up with it so my mom wouldn't worry about it. But then the simple teasing turned into bullying. One day my grandpa was late to pick me up and some boys started harassing me. I took a chance and spoke up for myself. I called them stupid and told them to leave me alone. They got mad and started to beat me up. I kicked one of them in the leg and ran as fast as I could. I may have been weak but I definitely wasn't slow. I ran towards my family shrine and didn't stop running until I was out of breathe. I began to slowly walk home then. When I got home I went up to my room and fell asleep crying. No one was home to comfort me or see the bruises that started to form on my arms and legs.

This is how I would have spent the rest of my life. Nothing would've changed. They would've never stopped their bullying if it wasn't for him.

* * *

The first week of first grade I was a little nervous. Although, I felt happy too, because over the summer my dad had gotten better and was now at home with us. He said pretty soon he would be able to work again. My mom had found out about the bullying and promised to never leave me alone again. She quit her second job so she could pick me up after school. I was happy for awhile, until it started again. 

It happened about three weeks after school started. That morning my mom told me she couldn't pick me up that day because of a meeting she had of some sort. She told me to walk straight to the bus stop and not to talk to strangers. She promised me that grandpa would be waiting at the bus stop for me and that he wouldn't be late. I did as my mom told me. But about half way there I walked into trouble.

"Hey there kagome." said kanji, my normal bully. He had a few older boys with him that I had recognized from school. They were both in the second grade. A year older than me and kanji. I decided that I wasn't going to be scared of them. I straightened my back and tried to walk around them. Kanji of course, blocked my way. I stopped and looked him the eye. "What? No Greeting? C'mon I haven't talked to you in a while." he said with a smirk.

"There's a very good reason for that." I said trying to sound smart and brave at the same time. Over the summer my grandpa's friend, Kaede taught me some karate moves for self defense and told me to never let anyone hurt me. _Grandpa will be mad if I'm late. _I thought as I tried to go the other way again.

"Really?" he asked surprised. "And what would that be?"

I stepped back a little. "I didn't want to hear your ugly voice." This I could tell angered him. He swung his fist as I ducked out of the way. I tried a sweep kick that Kaede had taught me. He fell on his back. _It worked. _I thought. As soon as he fell I got up and tried to run fast, completely forgetting about the two older boys. One of them, Reached his hand out and grabbed my hair. He yanked it hard causing me to fall back as I screamed in pain.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said aloud as he pulled me to my feet. I held my head and my hair, afraid he would pull it out. Tears began forming in my eyes. I shut my eyes as I heard Kanji standing up.

"That wasn't very nice kagome" Kanji said in an angry tone. I opened my eyes. As I did I saw kanji's flat hand coming toward my face. I barely any time to stop him before the pain exploded in my left cheek just below my eye. I let the tears flow freely, as he punched me in my stomach. I began to cry out.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you it's not nice to hit girls?" came a voice from behind us.

"What do you want?" Kanji said as I opened my eyes. The grip on my hair had loosened, so I tried to pull away. The boy just pulled back harder. I let out a cry of pain.

"Let her go." he said calmly. It sounded like he was a little older than us. He began walking closer.

The other older boy that stood next to kanji stepped forward. "and what if we don't?" He asked bravely.

"I'll hurt you."

He must've had something that scared them because they were going to leave. "C'mon guys, this half breeds not worth our time anyway." kanji said. As he was saying this the boy holding onto my hair let go and shoved me into the dirt. My cheek was now throbbing. I sat there for a minute and cried into my hands.

"Are you okay?" asked the boy. I looked up and there stood a boy with longer silver hair. He had golden eyes and two fuzzy ears on the top of his head. He extended out a clawed hand to help me up. I graciously took it without saying anything as he helped me up. "So why were they hurting you?" he asked after a short silence.

I lowered my head in shame. "I don't know. They just like to bully me." My voice came out quiet and soft. I couldn't belive someone was talking to me and being nice.

"Oh. I'm sorry"

There was another awkward pause before I decided to speak. "Well thank you for helping me. I have to go." I began to walk away. I then heard him call after me.

"Hey what's you're name?" He asked.

My parents had always told me to never talk to strangers but I didn't care because this boy was being nice to me. "Kagome," I said "Kagome Higurashi."

"Cool name, mine's Inuyasha Songiya. Well I guess I'll see you around. I hope I will meet up again with you some other time." he said turning to walk the other direction. "Bye Kagome." he called over his shoulder.

"Bye" I called back. I turned around and began to make my delayed trip to the bus stop. "I hope grandpa won't be angry with me since I'm late." As I walked to the bus stop I thought about how nice it had been to have someone stand up for me. I also couldn't help thinking about Inuyasha and how much I wanted to see him again. I didn't know at the time how soon that would be.

* * *

A couple of weeks later the teacher announced that we had a new student. "Everyone meet your new classmate, Inuyasha Songiya." she said. 

My head shot up as she said his name. He was scanning the room until he saw me. Then he smiled. I shyly smiled back. _I can't believe it's actually him, _I thought happily. I thought I would never see him again.

"Inuyasha has transferred from the school on the other side of town. Some of you know how it is to be new so please do your best to be nice to him. Now who would like to volunteer to be Inuyasha's tour guide for the week and show him around the school?" Everybody knew that the school on the other side of town was mainly attended by demons and half demons, which was why nobody raised their hand. Up until a few years ago the schools used to be separate for demons and humans. There were few demons that attended my elementary school, some of them were treated fairly others treated like dirt. I felt sorry for him because I knew first hand about how cruel some of these kids could be.

_Jerks! _I thought.

"Come on kids don't be shy." the teacher was still looking for a volunteer.

I realized I still wasn't raising my hand. He had helped me so now I had to help him. I shyly raised my hand. "Ah, thank you Kagome for volunteering. If you will just go back and take a seat next to kagome she will tell you what we are doing right now, ok?" He nodded and began walking towards me. He sat in the seat next to me on my right.

"Hey," he said casually.

"Hi."

"So, this is where you go to school huh?" It was meant as a rhetorical question, but I still answered with a yes. "Cool, so what are we suppose to be doing right now?"

"Um …we're working on our spelling for this week. You can copy my list since you don't have one yet," I slid it over to him.

"Thanks" he replied. He started writing them down as he talked to me. "So, um kagome do you want to play together at recess? I mean you don't have to, it's just you know you're the only person I know right now."

"Oh," I said, disappointed that he only wanted to play with me because he didn't know anybody else, although still happy that I was going to be have someone to play with. Even if was only for a little while, "Okay sure."

At recess we played on the swings. "Do you want me to push you?" he asked politely.

"Um…that's ok. I can do it myself," I said shyly.

He sighed. "Is it because I'm a half-breed? Is that why you don't want to play with me?" He sounded sad when he asked me this.

I looked up at him in surprise. _Did he really want to play with me? _I thought.

"I never said that I didn't want to play with you."

"Well, you didn't have to. You keep acting all mopey like you don't want to play with me."

"No I don't. It's just…"

"Just what?" he asked urging me to go on.

"Well, it's just that I really want to play with you, but when you get to know people you won't want to play with me anymore." I said sadly.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because it happens all the time, nobody wants to be friends with somebody like me."

"Then let's make a deal." he said confidently.

"Like what?"

"I'll be your friend if you'll be my friend. Deal?" he said, sticking his hand in front of me.

"Okay!" I said happily as I shook his hand.

"We're going to be best friends kagome I just know it." He walked back over to the swing. "So do you want me to push you now?" He asked, standing behind one of the swings.

"Okay," I said as I walked over to the swing. After recess was lunch, then back to class again. I talked to Inuyasha all day that day. He told me about his school and I did the same. He told me that his mom had died a couple years ago and that his dad died when he was born so he never got to meet him. I told him how my dad had been sick last year but had gotten better over the summer.

"So who were those guys that beat you up the first time I saw you?" He asked.

I looked down at my desk. "That was Kanji and his two friends. I don't know their names though. That was the first time I've seen them."

"So what did you do to them?" he asked.

I looked up at him. "Nothing," I said sadly returning my gaze to the desk again. "That's the way it's always been. Last year in kindergarten he would just tease me and call me names like all the other kids. But then for some reason he just started to get really mean and he would beat me up sometimes."

"I'm sorry. It sounds like you've had it really rough."

"It's not your fault. You don't have to apologize."

"I know but I kind of know how you feel. You see I live with my mom's human sister, my aunt Sukiko, and my half-brother Seshomoru. He doesn't have the same mom as me but we have the same father. His mom must've been a demon too because he's a full demon. He's always calling me half breed and before my mom died he would beat me up sometimes. I hated it a lot. Before my mom died she would make everything better and she promised to protect me. Now there's only my aunt who's always working so she can't do anything about it. But that's ok," he said, his mouth forming into a smile. "Because I've been getting stronger ever since my aunt put me in Karate lessons."

"So your just like me, except I'm not very strong." I said shyly.

"It's ok Kagome because now you have me. Don't worry if Kanji tries to hurt you again I won't let him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll protect you them. After all we're supposed to be friends, right?"

"Right. Thank you Inuyasha"

When it was time to go home that day I was sort of sad but happy all at the same time. I couldn't believe I had a friend. I was walked out to my mom's car I had a smile planted on my face. Throughout the years Inuyasha would come to my rescue many times. At that age I never knew how much he would come to mean to me.

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A/N-I hoped you all liked. please review and please no flames. And before i go any further with this story i should point out my mistakes. Inuyasha and Kagome sound way too old and smart for their age I know. and my charecters are definately OOC. I would also like to say that it doesn't matter because the whole point of fanfiction is to make a story into your creation however you want it tio be. so don't tell me that this or that isn't possible because that is the entire point.

So this is Nana saying "I'm Outie!"


	2. prologue part 2

_Prologue: Part 2_

Over the next few months, Inuyasha and I had become the best of friends. A couple of times Kanji and his friends tried to hurt me again. Each time Inuyasha protected me like he promised he would. After awhile they stopped and I was happy. I was always happy when I was with Inuyasha.

One day I was feeling a little sick and couldn't come to school so Inuyasha came to my house to see if I was alright.

"So do you feel better now?" he asked coming into the house.

"Yeah, my mom gave me egg drop soup for lunch and I've been in bed all day so now I feel way better." We both sat down on the couch as I flicked on the TV. "So do you have my homework?" I asked.

"No, we didn't have homework today." he said as he put his backpack down.

"Do you want a snack?" I asked getting up.

"Uh… yeah sure."

"Okay, wait here while I ask my mom first." I said walking into the kitchen where my mom was getting ready to make dinner. "Hey mom, do we have any Nagaraya nuts left?"

"Yeah sweetie, they're in the cupboard." my mom said over her shoulder. "Is that Inuyasha out there?"

"Yeah, is it alright that he came over?"

"That's fine as long as his Aunt said he could."

"She did."

"Ok, but don't forget when your dad gets home he's redoing the driveway so if you want, Inuyasha can join you to do handprints." That day my dad was going to repave the drive way. My mom had told me a couple of weeks ago that if I wanted I could put my name and handprints in the cement.

"Really? You don't care if he puts his name in our driveway?" I asked happily.

"No, I don't care. After all he is your best friend right?" She asked smiling.

"Yeah, he is. Thanks mom," I said as I grabbed the bag of snacks from the cupboard. I walked into the living room to find Inuyasha watching an anime about pirates. "What are you watching?" I asked as I sat down next to him on the couch.

"One piece. Miroku said it was really cool so I thought I might try to watch it."

_Miroku? _I thought. "So, um… who's Miroku?" I asked, curiously.

He turned to face me. "Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"Oh, I thought I did. Anyways he's this new kid in class. Too bad you missed school today. He's really cool." I opened the bag of Nagaraya nuts and poured them into a dish. "I told him that if you were better tomorrow we could play together at recess."

"You did?" I asked stupidly.

"Yeah, why? You don't want to?"

"No, I do. It would be cool to play with some other kids for once too right?" I said smiling. He smiled back and turned his head back to the TV. "Oh and by the way…" I said as I grabbed the remote from him "It's Thursday. Which means…"

"Sailor Moon," He said in the best girlie voice he could imitate.

"Duh." I said smiling.

"You're lucky I don't want to hang out with my brother or I would be out of here." I laughed at this.

"Awww, but I thought you liked watching it with me. Didn't you say Serena was pretty?"

"Yeah, but that was before I realized it was for girls."

"Oh well too bad for you. You know, you can leave but you won't get to stick your hands in the driveway when my dad gets home." I said teasingly.

"Really?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah my mom said that if you wanted you could do handprints and names with me when he gets back from work." I took a hand full of nuts and sat back in the couch enjoying my favorite show on TV. That night Inuyasha stayed over for dinner and afterwards we did our prints while the cement was still dry. While we did so I asked Inuyasha more about Miroku. As it turns out Miroku was like Inuyasha, only Miroku never knew his mom and it was his dad that died when he was young. Miroku had been raised and adopted by his father's best friend. He had no brother's or sister's and he had a pet squirrel named Hachi. Inuyasha also mentioned that he really liked girls and was always trying to make them smile. When we were done our hand prints were next to each other. Inuyasha's was of course a bit bigger. Before We went back inside to wait for Inuyasha's Aunt, I felt the need to add something to it. When I was done it read "Inuyasha and Kagome 2gethr 4evr." I smiled before my mom started calling me into the house. I liked how it sounded, it had a nice ring to it.

"So do you guys want to come over after school?" I asked pulling my lunch out of it's lunchbox. We were now in the second grade and had to eat lunch in the cafeteria.

"What's the occasion?" Miroku asked before taking a bite of his own lunch.

"My aunt is coming over to help with my mom's baby shower this weekend."

"And…" Inuyasha asked, urging me to go on.

I sighed. "And my cousin Kikyo will be there. I know how much you both **love** her, so I am being nice so you guys can see her. It should be fun."

"Hey," Miroku began, "I never said I liked her. I said she was just really pretty, and nice. Our good friend Inuyasha over here is the one with a major crush on her. Isn't that right Inuyasha?" Miroku said making Inuyasha only slightly blush.

"Would you just shut up. I do not like her." Inuyasha said taking a bite of his fish.

"You do too." I said in a high pitched voice. "You've had like the biggest crush on her since the day you met her." I said this last part as if it were a fact, which it was. "Besides if you didn't like her you would just treat her like you treat me." I said with a smirk. He opened his mouth to say something but having nothing to say closed it.

"Ha, see kagome we were right." Miroku said giving me a high five.

"So what if I like her." He said indignantly. "Kagome's the one who likes that jerk Kouga."

"Hey, he's not a jerk. He's really nice." I said protecting my crush.

"So you admit that you like him?" Miroku said smiling.

I blushed "Yeah, and what of it?"

"Oh nothing I was just saying how it's so obvious."

"Oh no! Do you think he knows?" I asked worried. The boys just laughed. "UGHH! You guys are so mean!"

"Oh c'mon kagome don't be mad, we were just joking." Inuyasha said pleadingly.

"Whatever. I'm going outside to play, you guys coming?" I asked getting up to leave and throw my trash away.

"Yeah we're coming" Said Miroku. They both got up and followed me. When we got outside we played some tether ball until the bell rang, and it was time for class.

After school the boys walked home with me. When we got there my aunt's car was already in the driveway and I could see my cousin Kikyo Playing on the swing. At that age we were got along like good friends. We were about the same age, only she was a couple months older. "Hey Kikyo!" I yelled over to her as I ran towards her, the boys following close behind. When she saw me, she smiled and called out my name. She ran to greet me with a hug as we both burst out in giggles.

"Nice to see you again. I missed you." She said releasing the embrace.

"Yeah, me too. Do you remember my friends?" I asked gesturing towards them.

"Inuyasha and… Miroku, right?" she said turning her attention to me.

"Yup. So did you already put your stuff in my room for this weekend?" I asked walking towards the swing set.

"I did that when we got here." she said as we both sat down on the swings. The boys just followed. I looked over at them to see that they were whispering something.

"Hey!" I yelled loudly startling them. They looked at me as I gave them a nod towards Kikyo, who was just staring down at the dirt. They seemed to get my message because they both rushed to her side offering to push her.

She looked at me and I smiled. She looked back at them and blushed as she told them yes. Then they proceeded to fight over who would push her completely forgetting about me. At the time I didn't care. My cousin had always been prettier than me and when she got older she would use it to her advantage. But for now we were both oblivious to the fact. Finally the fighting had ceased when Inuyasha shoved Miroku out of the way. He didn't fall. Instead he just grumbled something and stood back as Inuyasha proceeded, quite shyly, to push Kikyo. I stopped my swing, and looked over at Miroku who looked angry because he had no one to push.

"Miroku," I said as he turned his face to me.

"Yeah?"

"You can push me if you want to. I mean I don't need you to push me, but you can if you want," I said repeating my words.

He shrugged, "Ok," he said as he walked towards me.

Inuyasha, to curious and nosy for his own good turned to look our way and as he did so was hit in the face with Kikyo's swing. Kikyo took in a sharp breath as she turned to see what happened. He fell backwards grasping his cheek. I stopped my swing first and ran towards him as Kikyo tried to do the same. "I'm so sorry. Are you ok?" Kikyo sounded really scared as if she thought she was going to get in trouble. Inuyasha didn't say anything, but his eyes were shiny and he bit his lip trying to be brave. There was a small scrape near his eye where the swing had impacted.

"Maybe I should go get my mom." I said standing up. What Kikyo didn't know at the time was that demons and half demons healed a lot quicker than humans. Inuyasha might be hurting now but by the next day he probably wouldn't even have a scar or bruise on him.

"Please don't tell on me kagome! I didn't mean to hit him, but he wasn't looking!" Kikyo said panicking.

"Don't worry I won't tell. Just… go get my mom and tell her what happened." I told her this as if I was the older one, which I wasn't. I went to my back pack and got my hanky that I took with me everywhere. It was the one that Inuyasha had given me for my last birthday, along with a Sailor Moon Barbie doll. Kikyo just nodded and ran towards the house yelling for my mom. I walked over to Inuyasha and kneeled down next to him. Some tears had started to drip down his face. "Are you ok?" I asked getting closer to him. He nodded, probably too embarrassed that he was crying. Miroku just stood there. "Hey Miroku can you go see what's taking my cousin so long?" I asked him nicely.

"Yeah sure" he said speeding of towards the house.

I moved Inuyasha's hand off his cheek so I could wipe part of the scrape. He winced and quickly grabbed my hand. "I'm sorry did that hurt?" I asked apologetically.

"It's ok." The initial pain must have been wearing off because he had stopped crying and he let go of my hand. "Don't press too hard please."

"Ok." I gently pressed the cloth against his cheek and held it there.

"Thanks Kagome." He said as my mom came walking towards us. She walked considerably fast for a women who was 7 months pregnant.

"Oh my goodness! Are you all right Inuyasha?" She said kneeling down beside him. My mom was followed by my aunt Megumi, Miroku and Kikyo, who was walking slowly. "C'mon inside so we can put some ice on that." My mom got up as Inuyasha nodded. "The rest of you need to come inside too so you can do your homework." We all groaned as we picked up our backpacks and followed my mother. My mom had a strict policy when it came to homework. Homework was to be done as soon as we got home from school. Even if it was Inuyasha and Miroku, she still made them do their homework. She had met Inuyasha's aunt and Miroku's uncle and they were all friends. When they came over they also couldn't leave until someone picked them up. My mom was always so paranoid about us going off by ourselves. Now, we had to do homework. After we went inside we started our homework as my mom put some band aids on Inuyasha's face as well as some ice. She ordered him to keep it on until she told him to take it off. That night we did our homework and played some on my Sega that I had gotten for Christmas. Kikyo was shy at first because she still felt bad about what had happened. But after she saw that Inuyasha was ok and playing, she lightened up. When the boys left that night, Kikyo and I stayed up playing with Barbie dolls. We had also talked about the boys we liked and Kikyo had assumed I liked Inuyasha.

"NO WAY!" I said giggling. "He's my best friend. I like this boy at my school named Kouga. He's really nice."

"Really? Because it seems like he likes you," she stated as if it were so obvious.

My giggling subsided, "no he doesn't like me. He likes this other girl. She's really pretty and smart and she's older than me." I didn't want to give away Inuyasha's secret.

"Oh, Ok." we ended up talking a little more before our mom's came in and told us to go to sleep. That night I thought about the day Inuyasha and I had met and how different it would be if we weren't friends. I saw Inuyasha's face fade as I slipped into the unconsciousness of sleep.

When I was in the fourth grade, I met Sango. Another person who I would come to cherish. It happened after school, during a week when Inuyasha was on vacation with his Aunt, her boyfriend and his brother. So it was just me and Miroku. I had a few other friends now but Inuyasha and Miroku were my best friends. We were walking home when it started.

"Hey Kagome," said a familiar voice. I already knew who it was before I turned around to see it was Kanji. He Had few friends with him. Before I met Inuyasha and Miroku, I would have been afraid, but not now. "How've you been lately?" he asked acting as if we were friends. He wanted to play games with me, so I thought I'd play along.

"I've been really great. How about you? I heard you got detention for fighting with a girl. What is it about us that you hate so much, hmmm? I said with a smirk. Ever since I met Inuyasha I felt stronger and more confident about myself. I wasn't afraid of him anymore.

His eyes narrowed and his mouth turned up in an angry smile. "I really don't Know. Maybe It's just the fact that you're all so stupid."

Miroku stepped in front of me, ready to defend me. "Or maybe it's just the fact that you're too weak and stupid to fight somebody your own size. You can't even fight by yourself, you have to get other kids to help you."

"Why don't you stay out of this orphan boy." Kanji was referring to the fact that Miroku was adopted.

This made Miroku really mad. "I'm not an orphan!" He said as he charged towards Kanji. He ran straight into him knocking him down. Miroku got a few good punches before Kanji's friends grabbed him and held him as Kanji stood up.

Kanji walked over to Miroku and stared at him. He then punched Miroku in the gut. "So who's weaker, orphan boy?" Kanji then proceeded to hit Miroku over and over again.

I just stood their staring. _Kagome what are you doing? Do something! _I thought. _Leave him alone! Let him go! _Before I knew it I was running towards Kanji screaming "Leave him alone!" I collided with kanji as he turned to face me. As we hit the dirt he rolled over on top of me.

"Looks like you've gotten tougher kagome. It must be that half breed." He held my wrists firmly to the ground.

"Don't talk about Inuyasha like that!" I tried squirming out of his grip, but he was to strong and he was heavier than me. I didn't know what else to do, so I spat in his face.

"UUGH! Gross!" He said wiping his face.

I used the distraction and pushed him off of me. I scrambled to my feet and backed away from him. I admit that I was getting a little scared.

Kanji got to his feet and looked straight at me. "You should have just ran when you had the chance Kagome."

"I…I won't leave my friend!" I yelled trying to sound confident.

"That's too bad. Cuz' now I'm really mad." He charged towards me. He threw a punch at my face. I ducked but he saw and brought his knee up to slam into my stomach. It knocked the wind out of me causing me to fall over. I held on to my stomach. I heard Miroku calling my name, but I didn't look. "That half breed isn't here to protect you. No one is going to save you now." And as his foot slammed into my side I knew it was true.

I cried out in pain as he continued to kick my side. Then I heard her voice.

"I thought you would have learned your lesson from earlier this week." I lifted my head to see a girl leaning against a tree. She walked towards us.

"What are you doing here?" Kanji asked angrily.

I leaned my head back down. My side hurt so much. I watched as my tears fell into the dirt.

"I'm waiting for an apology." She said passing me. "Unless you want a rematch?"

"Gladly," said Kanji. I heard them as they began to fight. The others must have threw Miroku down because I heard him as he came towards me.

"Are you ok, Kagome?" He asked putting a hand on my back. I looked up to see Miroku's face through bleary eyes. Blood was slowly dripping out of a cut on his cheek. "C'mon," he said as he stood up, to help me stand. I was about half way there before I felt a very sharp pain by my ribs. I screamed and fell forward. "Kagome!" Miroku yelled as he caught me. He gently laid me down. "Wait here." He ran towards the fight. I could barely see but I did see that the girl, whoever she was, was very good at fighting. They were going to win, and at that moment my eyes became very heavy. For some reason before my mind went completely black I saw his face and thought _Why aren't you here, like you promised you'd always be? _

I woke up in a small white room. I assumed it was the hospital. I tried sitting up as I hissed in pain.

"Hey you're awake!" I turned to see Inuyasha, walking towards me. "Your mom said she would be back, she just had to go to the store for something. So, how are you feeling?"

"It still hurts, but I think I'll be ok. What about you? What are you doing here? I mean, I thought you were on vacation."

"I was. I came back the day after Kanji and his friends beat you up."

"So you know about that?"

"Miroku and that new girl, Sango, told me about it."

"Oh my god. Miroku, is he ok?" I asked worried.

"He's fine. He got a few stitches, but he wasn't as bad as you. You've been out for a week. The doctor said that nothings broken, but your ribs will be sore for awhile because they were bruised pretty badly. You also had a pretty big cut on your side there." He said pointing at the said spot.

I slowly lifted my shirt to see what he was talking about. There was a very large bruise covering most of my left side. There was also a large cut that had been sown together with stitches. I laid my shirt back down and looked at Inuyasha. Then I looked at the clock realizing something. It was only 1:30 in the afternoon. I looked back at Inuyasha. "It's Thursday, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Um…why aren't you at school? Did you get excused?"

He turned away. "I guess you could say…I've been excused for a total of two weeks." He said turning back to face me.

"What do you mean?"

"Ok, I'm going to tell you but you can't get mad."

"Ok, I won't. I mean how bad can it be?"

"After Miroku told me what happened, I went and beat up Kanji. I got suspended for two weeks."

"What!" I asked Incredulously.

"See, I knew you would get mad. But hey look on the bright side, after we told the principal what happened, Kanji got expelled. She called his parents and everything."

"I can't…believe you did that." I said looking down.

"I can't believe your upset about this. I mean-"

"That's not what I meant. I just can't believe you would do something like that… for me. I mean, you had to have known you would've gotten in trouble."

"Yeah, well you're my best friend Kagome. I told you before that I'll always be there for you. I'm sorry I wasn't there this time to protect you. But I'm not going to let this happen ever again."

I blushed from embarrassment. "Thanks Inuyasha. I know I can always count on you to be there when I need you."

A/N--Hey people! I can't believe how long it took me to update this chapter. Oh well. I am sorry for not updating when I said i would but you can't blame me because I did explain in my profile that I would update when I want to. And so I did. I have no excuse for taking a month to update though. I have just been lazy and tired. So please review and I hoped you liked it. Oh and from now on I will not be updating until I get at least ten reviews. I also would like to say that my new title is going to be Always There. I would like to thank the reviewer who gave me the idea. And I dedicate this story to that person. you know who you are. After my next update the title will be changed So until next time...

This is Nana saying "I'm Outie!"


	3. The Last Prologue, yeah!

Prologue part 3

A/N- Hey people! Thank you for the very nice reviews you left. I am sorry to say that this update isn't really that much of an update. I just forgot to add this to the second update. For that I apologize and I would also like to apologize for how short it is. But I hope you still like it. So Read it and review. Thank you.

* * *

About a week after I had woken up I was released from the hospital. At that time my mom, Miroku and Inuyasha were with me. My little brother Souta was also with me. When we got home my mom told me that I should go thank Sango for helping me and Miroku. She also baked cookies for me to take to her. Inuyasha decided to come to make sure Kanji didn't try to seek out revenge, even though I insisted he that he didn't need to. Miroku also decided to tag along.

"So why are you coming again?" I asked Miroku as the three of us walked down the street.

"I just wanted to…tell her thank you too." He replied casually.

Inuyasha smirked and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "That's code for 'I have a huge crush on her and I want to see her again'," we both burst out laughing.

"Hey! What's so funny?" Miroku asked.

I looked at him and started laughing harder. It was funny how clueless he was.

"Ok, now your getting annoying. What the heck is so funny?"

My laughing quieted down a bit. "So, Exactly how much do you like her?" I asked.

"Like who?" he asked curiously.

"Don't play dumb Miroku. It's obvious that you like Sango." Inuyasha said smiling.

"I do not." He said

"Oh really?" Inuyasha started "Then what's with those flowers?" Inuyasha asked pointing to the bouquet in Miroku's hand.

"These?" We both nodded. "These are…these are for you Kagome. Hope you feel better." He said nervously handing them to me.

I took them with a smile. "That's so sweet of you Miroku." I said as I took out 3 of the prettiest flowers. "But don't be stupid." I handed him the three flowers.

"What are these for?" he asked taking the flowers.

"There for Sango, you idiot!" Inuyasha yelled. "You like her don't you?"

"Well, yeah. I guess so."

"Then give those to her. She'll think your super sweet and have good taste." I said. "Now, before I thank her I think it would help to know what she's like. I mean you guys hung out like the whole week, right Miroku?"

"Well, yeah. But I don't really know that much about her."

"Ok, what do you know about her?"

"She lives with her parents and her little brother Kohaku. Um…I think she said she had a demon cat, but I can't remember the name. Oh and she also said she likes martial arts. She said her whole family, except her mom is like into the whole martial arts thing. Her ancestor's were demon slayers. And that's about all she told me. We really didn't talk that much because she seemed like she didn't want to."

"Oh ok, cool. Oh is that her house?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I guess so" Inuyasha said double checking the address.

"Wow. They must be rich or something." I said getting ready to open the gate that led to their yard.

"Or something." I heard her say.

I turned to see her standing behind us. She was dressed up in white fighting robes with a black belt tied around her waist. "Oh, hi Sango. My names kagome. You know the one you had to save." I held out the cookies my mom baked. "My mom baked these for you. I just wanted to come over and say thank you. That and I wanted to meet you."

She took the cookies. "Thank you. Um it's nice to meet you. Hey Miroku, Inuyasha, what are you two doing here?"

"We felt like tagging along," Miroku said confidently. "These are for you. You know to say thank you."

"Your welcome again. If I didn't know any better I'd say you have a crush on me."

"Pshhh. I do not like you. Especially since I like…someone else." He said smoothly.

"Well good. Because I don't like boys who are weak and tacky." She said holding up the flowers.

"Fine by me, because I don't like girls who…act like boys!" They were both now arguing and it was just so funny to watch I started to giggle.

They both tuned with angry looks on their face and in unison said "What is so funny?"

I tried to stop giggling and managed to say "Nothing."

Sango sighed. "Well I'd invite you all in but I have to get ready to go to practice." She then started to walk to the other yard next to the big house.

"Hey, isn't this your house?" Inuyasha asked curious

"No, I'm something so I can't afford to live their. Thanks again for the cookies. Maybe we can hang out at school?" She asked nicely.

"Yeah sure. See ya," I said waving as we went the other direction. "She's pretty cool, huh?" I asked as we continued to walk home.

"She's alright. What do you think Miroku? Is she as cool as that someone else you like?" Inuyasha asked Miroku.

"Shut up already I do not like her!"

Inuyasha and I both started to crack up. "We didn't say you liked her." I said. Miroku only mumbled something which just made me laugh.

* * *

On our way home we stopped at the park and played a little. Then Miroku had to go home. Inuyasha and I were still at the park when the street lights came on. "Wow. Time flies. I guess we better hurry up. My mom is going to totally freak on us." I said as I got off the swing.

"Not if we fly." Inuyasha said as he walked past me.

"Now there's a good idea. But wait, I forgot to put on my magical shoes today, you know the ones with the wings. Too bad, I guess we'll just have to run sorry." I said sarcastically, already walking away.

"I'm serious. Here get on my back." he said squatting so I could get on.

"Are you crazy? I've seen your running and your jumping, and there's no possible way that can be safe with me on your back."

"Just trust me ok?" He said as he looked up at me.

I walked cautiously toward him and got on. "I trust you Inuyasha. So you better not drop me." I clung tight to his body.

"Ok. Now hang on." He took off sprinting. I clung tighter

"Oh my god! I think I'm gonna' be sick."

"Close your eyes or don't look down. Oh and if you do get sick lean over the side. Just don't get sick on me because this is a new shirt." I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Gee thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I said trying to keep my eyes closed. When my eyes were closed it wasn't so bad. It actually did feel like I was flying. I smiled at the thought. All of a sudden we stopped. I opened my eyes and we were on the balcony outside my window. "Wow. We're here already?" I asked as I got off his back.

"Guess so."

"That was fast."

"Yeah, time _flies, _don't you think so?" He said sarcastically.

"Ha ha very fu-"

"Kagome." I heard my mom calling my name.

"Shoot. My mom's calling me. You better go before we get in trouble."

"Yeah I guess I better. See you at school." he whispered as he left.

I quietly entered my room and turned on the light. Suddenly my mom opened my door and walked in.

"How many times do I have to call you before I get an answer?"

"Oh, sorry mom. I…didn't hear you." I said quickly coming up with a lie.

"Maybe you should learn to listen then. Anyways, Inuyasha's aunt just called and she said that Inuyasha wasn't home yet. Do you know where he is?"

"No." I said all too quickly.

"I thought you guys went to that girl Sango's house earlier."

"We did, Then we went to the park and I went home. I don't know where he went though, did she check Miroku's house?" I said casually, already knowing that he wasn't there.

"Didn't Miroku-" my mother was cut short by the phone ringing. She answered with the cordless. "Hello?…Oh, yes. Right… So where was he anyways?…Well I'm glad that you found him…Alright, see you then. Bye." She hung up the phone and walked out into the hallway.

"So, she found him?" I asked curiously.

"Yes. Apparently he was at the movies and he forgot to call. You should get to bed. It's already late and you have school in the morning. Good night." My mother turned off my light and closed the door.

"Night mom." I changed into my night clothes before climbing into bed for the night.

* * *

A/N--So what did you think. It turned out longer than I expected since it was just a missing part. Anyways I hope you liked. So please review. It makes me happy. I'm not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully before my birthday. only 21 more days! Yeah! 


	4. Chapter 1: Tradition

A/N - Hey, people! It's been awhile. I haven't updated because I sort of haven't felt like it. This will probably be the last update for awhile because I have exams to study for. Anyways I'll be sitting by the computer waiting for those very few reviews that I get. Anyways let's get on with this crap. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1: Tradition

"Kagome you've been in there for five minutes. You need to come out." Sango said to the door Kagome was in.

"No, I'm not coming out until you hand me back my clothes." Kagome said very clearly.

"Oh come on. It can't be that bad."

"It can and it is."

"Then come out so I can see what's so wrong about it."

Kagome slowly opened the door.

"Wow."

"See, I told you. The color is all wrong and it is way too short."

"First of all that's the point and second of all, What the hell are you talking about. You look way hot. Just wait, all the guys are totally going to be staring at you tomorrow." Sango said confidently as she circled Kagome.

"The only looks I'll be getting in this thing will be from that bitch Kikyo and her group of friends."

"Only because they'll be so Jealous that they didn't get a hot outfit like this one. Besides, I thought you didn't care what your cousin thought." She said the last part in a taunting tone of voice.

"I…don't. However, I do care what Kouga thinks and if I wear this he'll think I'm some sort of circus freak."

"Oh and we wouldn't want our dear Kouga to think that now would we?" She laughed lightly.

"Shut up. It's no secret that your in love with Miroku."

Sango laughed. "Is that the best you could come up with? I wouldn't love that idiot, even if he wasn't a womanizer."

"Whatever." She said grabbing her clothes out of Sango's arms and going back into the changing room.

"Anyways, I'll pay for that. I'm going to look for more clothes"

"What!" She said as she quickly changed back into her own clothes. She stepped outside the dressing room. "I don't want this." she said holding up the outfit.

"No, but you will eventually and then you will have to thank me for buying it." She said as she went through the clothes on the rack. "Oh look at this skirt. Here try this on. It'll totally match that shirt that you liked from earlier." She handed her the skirt.

"You know, I don't even know why we're still doing this sort of thing. It hasn't worked once." Kagome said grabbing the skirt from her.

"No but I have a feeling it will this year. Besides it's our tradition."

"Tradition? We're in eight grade now. Don't you think we're a little to old for tradition?"

"You are never to old for tradition. Especially the shopping kind. Here try on this pair of jeans also."

"Fine, but this is the last one and then we have to go. I told the guys we would meet them at two for lunch and a movie."

"Well, I hate to break it you Kagome, but we're going to be late." Sango said looking at her watch. "I might as well text miroku and tell him." Sango dug through her purse until she found her phone.

"Wait sango. Why are we going to be late we still have a bout an hour left."

"What are you talking about. It's already 1:55."

"No it's not it's only 12:55 by my watch."

"Did you set it an hour forward for daylight savings?"

"Crap. That was today! We better get going then." She said as she grabbed her clothes that Sango had picked out for her.

"What are you doing? You didn't even try those on yet."

"I know. They fit around my neck so they should fit. Now lets go before we're late."

"Whoa, hold on a minute. What's with this 'they fit around my neck deal'? Just because they fit around your neck, doesn't mean they're going to fit. I mean who told you that crap."

"My grandmother used to tell me that all the time. That's how she would shop with me when I was little." Kagome went to the counter to pay.

"Your grandmother told you this?"

"Yeah, she did." Sango laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I can't believe you still listen to those old wise tales that your grandparents told you when you were little."

"That'll be 47 dollars and 63 cents please." The sales clerk said. Kagome handed her a 50 dollar bill. "Out of 50?"

"Yes. Thank you." Kagome said still looking at Sango. "And what's wrong with that?"

"2 dollars and 37 cents is your change. Have a great day."

"Oh, thank you. You too." Kagome grabbed her bag and they left the store. "What?" she asked when she saw Sango staring at her.

"Where did you get fifty dollars from?"

"Oh my mom gave me some extra money for school clothes this year. And It was part of my allowance."

"Ok cool. So where are we meeting the guys?"

"At the food court on the third level."

"It's only 2. Let's stop at the restrooms real quick. I got to go."

"Ok" The two walked and talked. When they got to the bathroom, there was a line. "Great," Said Sango in an annoyed voice. "You think the guys will be mad that we're late?"

"Probably, but I'm paying for the movie and lunch so they can't complain. Which, if I know Inuyasha, He probably started complaining about five minutes ago, and he won't stop till we get there." They both laughed.

"You're probably right."

* * *

"God, what the heck is taking them so long?" Inuyasha asked in frustration. "I didn't come here to hang out at the food court"

"You're the one who agreed to meet them here so you shouldn't be complaining," Miroku said coolly. "It's your own fault."

"No, It's your fault. You conned me into coming. You said we were meeting them here for the movies not after they went shopping!" He said angrily as continued to pace back and fourth.

"Chill out Inuyasha. The movie doesn't start for another 20 minutes. We have time. Besides their girls. They'll just die if they're not fashionably late or something like that."

Inuyasha stopped his pacing and looked beyond Miroku. "Well speak of the devil." Miroku turned around to see the girls laughing as they walked towards them. They were carrying two big bags and several little bags with them. "It's about time you guys showed up. Do you know what time it is?" he asked clearly irritated.

"It's only two thirty. Why? Do you have to go somewhere?" Kagome said as she checked her cell phone.

"No. You guys are half an hour late."

"Told you he would be mad" kagome texted quickly to Sango. Sango checked her phone after it started beeping. When she opened it up she laughed and looked at kagome who was smiling. Inuyasha looked from kagome to Sango. "Am I missing something here?" Kagome looked at Inuyasha and laughed. "Okay that is getting really annoying" he said.

"Sorry," Kagome said trying to suppress her laughter. "It's just…"

"Miroku didn't tell you?" Sango said quickly.

"Tell me what?"

"I left a text message saying we were going to be a little late." Sango said.

"Oh, that was you huh?" Miroku asked.

"You mean she left you a message and you ignored it?" Inuyasha asked even more irritated.

"I was busy and I must of forgot" Miroku said non chalantly.

"Okay guys come on. It's done with already so let's just drop it and get something to eat." Kagome said breaking the up the argument.

"Cool with me," Sango said as she stood near Miroku.

"And if it's cool with her it's cool with me," Miroku said as he rubbed Sango's bottom. - _slap - _"Oy!"

"Keep your hands to yourself pervert!" Sango said as she walked off towards the Panda Express. Miroku followed her as he rubbed his cheek.

Kagome waited for Inuyasha to start walking. "So where do you want to eat? Rice king or Panda?" Kagome asked as they walked towards the other two.

Inuyasha just shrugged. "So what are you guys getting?"

"I don't know. I really want sushi but we might not have enough." Miroku said looking at the menu.

"I say we go with cheap and just get noodles" Inuyasha suggested.

"That's all you ever eat," Kagome said smirking. "Besides I want some curry." Kagome took out her a wallet along with a stack of bills. Kagome looked up and noticed everybody staring at her. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Where did you get all that money?" Miroku asked amazed.

"Let's see. My allowance, my grandmother and a few drug deals here and there."

"What!?" Everyone asked simultaneously.

Kagome laughed. "I so had you guys going there. I mean honestly, this is me we're talking about. It's mostly just ones" she stated after her laughter died down. All four of them grabbed a tray and walked down the counter telling the servers what they wanted. After they were finished eating they threw away their trash and headed towards the south end of the mall.

"So what do you guys want to see?" Inuyasha asked as they walked.

"Ju-on 2 just came out. I liked the first one o why don't we see the second one?" Sango asked.

"Sounds good to me. What about you two?" Kagome asked looking first at Inuyasha then at Miroku.

"Cool with me." Miroku said. "Alright we'll get the tickets and the seats and you guys can get the snacks."

"Okay that's good," Kagome said as she stepped through the doors and Inuyasha followed.

Sango and Miroku stepped up to the ticket booth. "Four tickets to Ju-On, the three fifteen showing." Miroku said into the speaker. The cashier handed him the tickets and directed him to the right theater. "Thank you" he told her as they walked off. They stopped by the concession lines to give Kagome and Inuyasha their tickets and headed toward the theater. "You know it's a good thing you picked a scary movie. I love scary movies. Statistics show that over 90 percent of women get scared during horror films." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah right Miroku. You are so full of it you know that?" Sango said looking for seats as they entered the theater.

"No, it really is true. So if you get scared you can hold my hand or hide in my chest if you want."

"Keep dreaming Miroku. As if I would ever do anything like that with you." She said taking her seat.

"It's ok Sango I know how you truly feel about me. It's okay to let your love show."

"Miroku…" she said in a slow sultry tone.

"Yes?" he asked expectantly.

"I wouldn't date you if you were the last guy on earth."

"You say that now. Just wait, one of these days you are going to be begging to go out with me."

"I can't see any girl EVER begging you to do anything for them other then telling you to leave them alone." Inuyasha said as he and Kagome sat down next to the two.

"SHHH! The movie is about to start," Miroku said trying to change the subject.

* * *

A/N - So did you guys like it? I hope you did. Anyways many thanks to one of my best freinds Doggie chan just because she who she is. And my ultra awesome freind from cali who will always be my awesome freind Ghia. Flame or Love leave it if you bothered to read my story.

This is Nana saying i'm outie!


	5. Chapter 2: New Looks

A/N - Hey everybody! Thank you to the 2 brave untowardly people who actually reviewed. To the other 42 (yes I checked the stats there are 42 of you) people who read my story and didn't review you can all drop off the face of the earth! Because you read my story but you were to stupid to review and not to mention lazy. If you didn't like my story tell me whats wrong so I can fix, which is called CUNSTRUCTIVE CRITISM! Or you could have left a flame anything to tell me that you read it. Anyways for those of you who do review and like my story please continue on. Here's another from yours truly.

Chapter 2: New looks

"Kagome!" Kagome's mother stood at the bottom of the stairs with a day planner in her hands and a phone between her neck and shoulder. "Yes I understand sir. I can be there in half in hour. Goodbye." She took the phone and pressed the off button. She put the phone back on the hook and started walking up the stairs. As she walked up the stairs she heard loud music playing from Kagome's room. She opened the door and hit the off switch on the her stereo. "Didn't you hear me calling?" She asked looking around her daughter's room.

"Oh, sorry mom. Sango's trying to fix my hair and she didn't want me to move." Kagome had asked Sango to spend the night so she could help her get ready for their first day back. Sango was already done getting ready and was now helping kagome fix her hair.

"Yeah shorry Karu I din wan Ka ome moing awoun." Sango had a clip in her mouth and it was hard to understand what she was saying.

"That's alright Sango. Are you two almost ready?" She asked looking at her watch.

"We should be ready in about 20 minutes. Why?" Kagome asked turning to her mother. Sango mumbled something and turned Kagome's head back to the it's previous position. "Ooops, sorry Sango."

"Well I don't have 20 minutes I have about 5." Her Karu said looking down the hallway and turning down to face them. Sango snapped the clip in place and Kagome got up to look in the mirror. Kagome's hair was pinned up and had some stray curls hanging from where it was pinned up. She smiled thinking it looked like it was done by a professional. "Your going to have to walk to school because I don't have the time to wait."

"Why? Did something happen?" Sango asked Also standing up and going through Kagome's closet.

"Mr. Dashiki called and he needs me there to the company proposal early so I have to leave."

"Okay no problem Mom. I can Inuyasha and ask if Rina will be willing to swing bye and pick us up."

"That's fine but don't be a nuisance." Her mother was about to leave when she turned back around. "Oh I guess I forgot. You're going to have to walk. Souta's not ready yet and I don't have time to wait for him. You two are going to have to walk him to school. Kagome could you help him make a lunch? It's his first day of 1st grade so try and be nice okay?"

"Okay mom. Don't worry it's not like I'm always being mean to him. Only when he's a brat."

"I mean it Kagome." Her mother said in a very stern voice.

"Okay, okay I promise not to be mean to the little runt. Your going to be late if you don't hurry up.

"You're right," she said looking at her watch again. "Alright I have to go. I'll see you later." She left the room and Kagome heard her from down the hall call

out "Don't be late!"

"Okay!" She yelled back. "Great. Now we have to walk to school. I really didn't feel like walking."

"I can call my dad and asked if he can take us. He doesn't have to work for like few more hours. I'm sure he wouldn't mind dropping us and Souta off." Sango offered taking out a pair of jeans and one of the shirts that Kagome had bought at the mall yesterday.

"That'd be cool. I'm going to go make sure my brother's ready and make his lunch. You can use my phone up here." Kagome took one last look at her hair and went down the hall to her brother's room. "Hey Squirt you ready?" she asked jokingly.

"Yeah." Souta was sitting on his bed and putting his socks on before he looked up at his sister. When he noticed she was smiling he smiled back and got off his bed and held out his arms on either side of him. "See." Kagome's smile got wider and she stepped into the room. He was wearing a shirt that had a picture of dragon ball z on it. He also had on a pair of pajama pants that had the sponge bob character all over it. He was about to walk past her when she stopped in front of him. He looked up at her confused. "Sis, move. I gotta brush my teeth. Mom said so."

"Listen buddy." She said squatting down to his eye level. "You can't wear that to school."

"Why not?" he whined "Mom told me I could wear sponge bob if I wanted to."

"Yeah but those are pajama pants and you can't go to school in those now can you? She asked kindly. She left out the part about his clothes not even matching. "So why don't we find you something else to wear?" She stood up and went over to his closet. "Let's see. Why don't you wear these?" She asked as she pulled a pair of blue jeans out and held them up for him to see.

"Those aren't sponge bob." he said crossing his arms on his chest with a pouty look on his face.

"I know." she said. "but you can wear a sponge bob shirt with it if you want." She put the pants on his bed and opened up his dresser. "Now where's that shirt that I got you for your birthday?"

"It's in the laundry." He walked over to his bed and started undressing. Kagome wasn't bothered because she had helped her mom a lot when she was little. Taking baths together and helping her mom changing his diapers. So him in nothing but a pair of sponge bob underwear didn't phase her at all.

"Okay well I'll go look for it because Dad just finished the laundry. You can go brush your teeth in the meantime and when your done come downstairs because I still have to make your lunch. Okay?" She said looking at him as he tried to button his pants. She walked over to him and helped him. "Hey did you hear me?"

"Okay," he said as he turned around and walked in the direction of the bathroom.

Kagome walked downstairs and into the kitchen where Sango was sitting at the counter, making a peanut butter sandwich. "Hey, I'm can't remember. Does Souta like jelly?" She asked looking up.

"No he doesn't like it. But he does like bananas on it. Why? Is that for him?" She asked eyeing her friend.

"Yeah I thought I would help you out since your still not ready."

"Okay thanks. I have to go find his favorite T-shirt or he might refuse to go to school.

"Oh. My dad said he'll be here in fifteen minutes to pick us up. I found the most perfect outfit that would look totally awesome with your hair and make-up. It's sitting on your bed whenever you get a chance."

"Thanks. Eureka!!" She called out from the laundry room.

"What is it?" Sango asked.

"I found the shirt." she said coming out of the laundry room with the a yellow shirt with sponge bob on the front of it saying 'I'm Ready!' "Souta!" Kagome

called. "I found your sponge bob shirt so you better hurry up and get down here so you can change."

"Coming!" He called as he bounded down the steps without a shirt on. He ran past the kitchen without looking and into the laundry room. "Where are you Kagome?"

"We're in the kitchen." Sango and Kagome said simultaneously. Souta came running into the kitchen and stopped in front of his sister. He took the shirt from her and slid it on. He then walked over to the breakfast counter and climbed up onto one of the stools.

"What's for breakfast?" he asked waiting impatiently for some food.

Kagome opened the cupboard and rummaged through it until she found the pop-tarts. She took out a package and handed it to him. "Your going to have to eat these. We ran out of milk and mom forgot to buy some. I've got to finish getting ready so when your done you can just wait and watch some TV or something." She turned to leave but Souta called out her name. She reluctantly turned around. If she didn't hurry up she wouldn't have time to change the outfit Sango picked out if she didn't like it. "Yes Souta?" She asked trying to say calm.

"Can't I have them toasted? They're cold." He asked.

Sango could see Kagome was getting irritated. After living with her little brother who was a lot closer in age to her than kagome and Souta were she decided to help her out a little. "Here Souta. I can toast that for you." she said looking up at Kagome. "your sister needs to get ready."

"Thank you, Sango" he said very politely. Kagome mouthed a quick 'thanks' and ran up the stairs to get ready.

After the Pop tarts popped up Sango set the two of them on the plate. Just then she heard Kagome yell her name. "Well eat up kid. If my dad comes can you just tell him we'll be there in a minute? I have to go help your sister." He just nodded as he chewed his food. Sango got up and walked up the stairs smiling to herself, already knowing what Kagome was mad about. "Yes Kagome. What do you need now?" she asked trying to keep a straight face.

Kagome turned to face Sango who was standing at the door way. "Are you on crack or something!? Because as your best friend I should know." She had her hands on her hips and looked very angry.

"Noooo. Why do you ask?" Sango said slowly her mouth turning up into a smile.

"You know what. Look at this! Did you really think that I was going to wear this!? I mean I don't even think this is allowed at school." She said indicating her outfit. Kagome was wearing an old pair of jeans that had just the right tears in the knees. Her shirt was black with two skinny straps on her shoulder. She shirt hugged her body in all the right places. Kagome was not the type of girl who liked to show off her body. The most she would ever show in public was her forearms.

"Yes it is allowed in school. Besides I really don't see the problem. I mean you look awesome. Kouga doesn't stand a chance."

"I don't care I'm changing." Just as she began looking through her closet they heard a horn from the driveway.

"Well I hate to burst your bubble chick but you don't have time. My dad's here and you still haven't finished making Souta's lunch yet." Sango said this with a smirk.

"Ugghh! Are you freaking kidding me." Kagome slammed her closet door shut and ran to the side of the bed. She started to shove the text books that they had received when they got their schedules. "Where's my sweater?"

Sango smiled. "It's in the washer." She stated.

"What!?" Kagome shrieked. "What the heck is it doing in the washer?" She asked as she looked at her friend who was still smiling.

"Your dad was doing laundry last night and came to get your laundry when you were in the shower. And it just so happens that your favorite sweater was in the dirty laundry pile." They then heard the doorbell ring and Souta talking through the door. "You better get that before Souta tells him to go away."

Giving up Kagome grabbed her back pack and her gym bag. "I don't know what bothers me more. The fact that you planned this whole thing out or the fact that I have to wear this ridiculous outfit all day." Sango also grabbed her bag as she followed Kagome down the hall and down to the living room. "Souta move out of the way and go get your stuff." Kagome opened the door and didn't bother to look enthusiastic.

"Hello Kagome. Are you girls ready?" Sango's father stepped into the house but stopped by the door way.

"Yeah we're ready. I just have to finish making Souta's lunch and we'll be all set." Kagome said as both Sango and Souta walked into the room. Souta sat down on the step in front of the door and began to put his shoes on. "Souta you still need your lunch."

"Nuh-uh. Sango finished it for me. She gave me a Twinkie and an apple with my sandwich. Wanna see?" He asked holding up his lunch pail, which was of course sponge bob.

"No just hurry up and get out to the car." Souta finished putting his other shoe on and ran out to the car that was idling in the driveway.

"Why so glum Kagome?" Sango's father asked.

"Nothing." Kagome said. There was no way she was going to tell him what she was mad about. She thought to herself. Slipping into her new shoes that she had also got at the mall. He looked at Sango as they left the house. She just shrugged also not wanting to tell the truth. Kagome locked the door and put the key in her pocket as she followed them to the car. Souta was sitting in the back with his lunch pail already buckled up. Sango got into the front seat and kagome got into the back. As they drove down the road kagome stared out the window. 'This is going to be the longest day of my life' Kagome said to herself. They first stopped at the elementary school to drop Souta of. "Hey wait for me out front. I'm picking you up because mom can't so you better not leave ok?" She called out as he left. He gave her a quick nod and left.

As they got closer and closer to the school Kagome grew more nervous. "Hey dad." Sango said breaking the silence that Kagome didn't know was there. "Do you think you can drop us off here?" Sango asked as her dad pulled to the side of the sidewalk.

"Why?" he asked as They grabbed there backpacks.

"Because it's not cool to get dropped off by your dad in front of the school."

"Oh I get it. Alright you guys have a good day. See you at dinner Sango." They got out of the car and he drove away.

"So you ready?" Sango asked her friend. As they began walking.

"I guess so. It's not as if I have a choice." Kagome pulled her back pack higher up on her back. "She heard someone calling to them form behind and stopped to turn around. It was Miroku running towards them.

When he finally caught up to them he stopped to catch his breath. "Hey." He said in between a breath. "I swear you guys are deaf."

"Hey Miroku." Sango said. He looked up at her and smiled. He then looked at Kagome and his eyes went wide.

"What!" kagome asked defensibly.

"Nothing you just look…" he paused trying to find the right word "different. That's all."

"Yeah well it's Sango's fault. I told her I didn't want to wear it but she picked it out anyways and now I look stupid."

"Who said that?" Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha leaning against the brick wall. "I think you look great."

* * *

Well how did you like it? Personally it wasn't all that great for me. Hope you R&R wether your a flamer(LOL) or a reviewer. Thanks it's NanaOsaki-san saying "I'm outie and you better review/flame if you read this!"

* * *


	6. Chapter 3: First Impressions

A/N - OMG! I can't believe how many people reviewed. I shouldn't really be excited about only 5 people reviewing but I am so you can all just kiss my…err well you know. Anyways thank you to those of you who did review. I especially want to thank MyInuyashaObsession because you wrote the longest review and it made me happy. (I need to stop being so excited over minuscule things)

To clear up a few things Kagome is not involved in a bad crowd. She told the truth about the whole money thing. As for Inuyasha and kagome (My favorite couple on earth _Hint Hint _) You'll have to wait and see what happens. Any way here's another chapter from yours truly.

Chapter 3: First Impressions

"Well I don't care what any of you think because I'm cold and I need my sweater." She said crossing her arms over her chest to prove her point.

"Are you crazy it's like eighty degrees out right now." Inuyasha said looking at Kagome.

"Whatever." She said as she walked past him towards the school fuming.

"What's wrong with her. I mean If she wasn't like one of my best friends I would totally go for her. I mean she does look pretty hot. Not that that means anything. Cuz' you know you're the one true girl for me." Miroku said this as he faced her.

"Lay off Miroku." Sango said walking off. The three walked off in a group towards the junior high. "Anyways, Kagome's upset because she's not used to showing skin and she didn't have time to change. I didn't know she would get this mad. I mean she did ask me to help her look good because she wants to impress Kouga."

"I don't see what she sees in that jerk off anyways. I mean he's so cocky and doesn't even like the girls he dates. Not to mention I heard he was into drugs or something like that." Inuyasha said as he kicked a rock.

"Sounds like someone's jealous." Miroku teased.

"Yeah right. We're best friends so naturally I would be concerned if she likes a jerk like that."

"I think the real reason Kagome's upset is because she feels exposed. She hates showing her skin like it makes her vulnerable or something." Sango said.

"Well like I said I think she looks hot. Just not in that way." Miroku said the last part quickly.

They opened the doors and stepped into the hallway as people talked excitedly about their summer vacations.

'I went to Fiji'

'Yeah well I went to New York'

'We went all the way'

'Are you serious? No way!'

The they walked over to their lockers which were right next each other. Inuyasha shared a locker with Miroku and Sango and Kagome did the same. After putting their books away they compared their schedules.

"I don't have gym with any of you guys." Sango complained.

"Looks like we're in the same homeroom again this year. That's pretty lucky. I mean this is what the third year in row that we've had the same homeroom right?" Miroku said looking over his schedule.

"Yeah it is. But we might not be as lucky next year." Inuyasha stated it as if it were already a fact.

"And why is that?" Sango asked.

"Because. Next year we go to Withering Heights And in case you forgot it's combined with the school on the other side of the city which means twice as many students. The chances of all four of being in the same homeroom next year are slim to none." Inuyasha shut his locker and faced them.

"Yeah I almost forgot about that. We might not even be able to choose our locker partners." Sango suddenly realized she had yet to see Kagome. "Speaking of which I'm going to go find Kagome and tell her she's being ridiculous. I'll catch up with guys in a few minutes." She shut her locker and walked past them and turned into the east hallway.

Miroku turned his attention to Inuyasha as they headed to their homeroom. "So what did you think?" He asked as they stepped into the empty classroom.

"About what?" Inuyasha said sitting down in the seats in the back.

"About Kagome."

"She looked…nice, I guess," He said choosing his words carefully.

"Nice? Did you even look at her? For once I think she looked a lot prettier than Kikyo." Miroku said with a smirk.

"So, what do I care? If she wants to dress up for that pompous jerk than let her. It's non of my business." Inuyasha said coldly as he turned away looking out the window.

"You can't honestly think that. I mean at least she's making a move and doing something about the person she likes. What have you done with Kikyo but sit around?" Miroku lectured.

"This has nothing to do with Kikyo." HE said without turning around.

"Yeah it does. You wonder why Kagome wants to go out with Kouga so much because he's a jerk and you don't like him. Yet you're the one who is so in love with Kikyo even though you know how Kagome feels about her. So why should Kagome have to give up on Kouga if you're not willing to give up on Kikyo?"

This time Inuyasha turned to face Miroku. "Because I actually know Kikyo. In case you forgot she is Kagome's cousin and we've known her since grade school. I know what she's like. Kouga on the other hand has not once given Kagome a second look. She's just wasting her time."

"At least she's using it."

"Whatever," and with that the conversation ended. Other people started entering the room and Inuyasha put his his books on two of the seats to save them for the girls.

* * *

Kagome clutched her books against her chest as she walked down the hallway. Out of the corner of her eye she could see some people looking at her as she walked by. 'Why are all these people staring at me' she thought to herself. She ducked into the girls bathroom. She walked to the very last stall and locked herself in. 'I'll just stay in here until the bell rings.' She backed into the corner and looked at her watch. 7:55. Only five more minutes' she thought. She heard the bathroom door suddenly open as someone walked towards her stall. She knocked on the stall door. 'Maybe if I pretend I'm not in here whoever it is will go away. Besides there are other stalls open I'm sure.' she thought to herself.

"Kagome I know you're in there." Sango said to the stall door.

'Unless it's Sango'

Sango sighed. "I can see the new shoes you bought yesterday so stop ignoring me." She said with a smirk.

"How did you know I was I here?" she asked as she opened the door and stepped out.

"I put this tagging device on your clothes this morning and you just didn't notice." she said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Kagome asked smiling. "And where did you get this ultra tracking device?"

"I have connections." Sango said as she took a seat on the air vent connected to the wall. "Not to mention I have strong ties with the people in these hallways. It just so happens that Eri is one of them."

Kagome set her books down to wash her hands. "Oh she must have saw me run in here."

"Yeah, She said you looked like you were in a hurry." Kagome only continued to wash her hands without answering. "So, what's really bothering you?" Sango said after a short silence.

"Nothing really." Kagome stopped the faucet to dry her hands and looked in the mirror at her friend who had a concerned look on her face. "I guess I'm just not used to people gawking at me like I'm some kind of circus freak." At this Sango laughed and Kagome turned swiftly around to face her. "What are you laughing at? There is absolutely nothing funny about this."

"Kagome you are totally clueless. I mean is that what you really think about yourself?" Sango asked trying to calm down her laughter.

"Well, not really. But it's what other people think. I know it is." Kagome said looking at the floor.

"Kagome," Sango's voice took on a soothing tone as Kagome looked at her. "When people, especially guys, are looking at you when your dressed like that, it means they are totally checking you out."

"And exactly how do you explain the girls that have been giving be these weird looks?"

"It's simple. They're jealous and they are trying to figure out how they can get a look like yours. Trust me Kagome, That's all it is. Nobody really thinks you look like a circus freak. And I'm not just saying this because you're my best friend or to make you feel better. I'm saying this because it's the truth."

A moment of silence past between them. "I guess you're right," Kagome said with a smile as she picked up her books, "But it did make me feel better."

"Well, good." Just then the bell rang. "Well we better go before we're late."

"You're right. Let's go." Kagome said walking towards the door. Sango got off the heater and followed her friend out the door. As Kagome opened the door, Sango stepped on her shoelace on accident. Causing Kagome to trip forward and yelp in surprise. Kagome quickly shut her eyes and held fast to her books as she waited for her face to meet the floor. Suddenly she felt warm hands gripping her elbows. Her eyes snapped open to see a blue eyed boy smiling down at her. She swallowed the lump that had instantly formed in her throat.

"Are you okay?" He asked helping her to stand up right.

Oh. My. God. She thought to herself. "I'm okay. Th-thank you." she said looking down at the floor as a slight blush spread cross her face. "Sorry about that."

"It's no problem. You should be more careful Kagome or you'll end up hurting your self."

Kagome's head snapped up at the mention of her name. "You know who I am?" She asked slightly surprised but at the same time happy.

"Sure. I think you 2 tutor my sister Mae, right?" I think I've seen you before and she's always talking about you guys." Kagome's heart sank as she realized he had no idea that they went to school together as little kids.

"So, you're her brother?" Sango asked curiously. "She only ever mentions her older sister Reina."

"That's because Reina's her favorite out of all of us." He said smoothly. "She graduated last year and Reina misses her a lot."

"That's too bad. She really is such a sweet kid." Kagome said after building up the courage to speak.

"Yeah she is." Just then the bell rang. "Looks like we're late. I'll see you later, Maybe we'll have some classes together." He said as he ran the opposite way.

Kagome smiled. "You're drooling," Sango taunted as she walked passed Kagome.

Kagome blushed as she walked next to her friend. "I can't believe we're late for our first day. Mr. Shima is going to be mad." Kagome said trying to change the subject. Sango wouldn't let her.

"You're right but you know just as well as I do that you wouldn't have gone running away just to be on time."

Kagome Laughed. "I guess you're right."

Sango smiled over at her friend. "Aren't I always?"

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Hey everybody! Ok so I know this chapter was a little lame but I'm losing inspiration for the story because I want to get to the good parts sooo badly. And I do promise you there are some good drama scenes in here. Just not for a few chapters. Ok so stick with me. Especially you Doggie-Chan because if you don't I will cry myself to sleep until you do and we both know what an ugly sight THAT would be. So stick around. Don't forget to review. They prevent the whole "crying myself to sleep thing." Even flames are nice because they show that you were considerate enough to write.

Until next time this is NanaOsaki-san saying I'm Outie!


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